AG stepping in on 'male Roe vs. Wade'

Published 8:00 pm, Wednesday, April 19, 2006

The child-support/men's rights lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in Bay City has the attention of state Attorney General Mike Cox.

In the suit deemed the male version of Roe vs. Wade, Matt Dubay, 25, a computer programmer from Saginaw Township, claims his Constitutional rights were violated by orders to pay child support for a child he didn't want. Cox disagrees.

Dubay says his ex-girlfriend, Lauren Wells, told him that she was on birth control and, additionally, that she was unable to get pregnant because of a medical condition. When she did become pregnant and requested financial assistance, Dubay responded with the suit against her and against Saginaw County Prosecutor Mike Thomas, claiming that state paternity law is unconstitutional.

Cox said Dubay's decision to sue the county prosecutor, not the State of Michigan, is an attempt to avoid intervention by the state attorney general's office - one that will not work.

"We have to take a stand," Cox said. "We have to send a message that parents take responsibility for their children."

Cox announced Wednesday his office will be taking part in the suit, and filed a motion to intervene.

Thomas said he was surprised that he, and not a state entity, was the target for the suit. "I didn't quite understand when it was filed against me in the first place," he said.

The suit filed in March has garnered national attention. It's not the first of its kind, however, and Cox said others like it in Kentucky and Hawaii have been promptly tossed out by judges.

Thomas and Cox are expecting the same to happen in the Dubay case, and a motion to dismiss has been filed with the U.S. District Court in Bay City.

"Potentially, it could be chaos for the children of Michigan," Cox said. It also could lead to taxpayers bearing the burden of responsibility for children whose fathers don't wish to contribute financially.

Cox said that too often, Michigan's taxpayers end up footing the bill for parents who choose not to be responsible for their children. He expects a hearing on the case to be scheduled within the next month. "We're confident the right thing will happen," he said.

L. William Smith, who provides contracted counsel for Midland County, is representing Wells. He said her concern is the welfare of her child.

"Miss Wells is desirous of raising a well-rounded, normal young child," he said.